LEWISTON — Down at halftime, Widener University clamped down on defense in the second half and rallied past Springfield College for a 57-50 victory in an NCAA Division III tournament first-round game Friday at Bates College’s Alumni Gymnasium.
The Pride (24-4), out of Wilmington, Delaware, trailed 35-26 after two quarters, but held Springfield (22-6), it’s Massachusetts opponent also nicknamed the Pride, to just seven points in the third and eight in the fourth.
Widener will face Bates in Saturday’s second-round matchup at 6:30 p.m. at Alumni Gym.
After trailing since the opening minutes, Widener grabbed the lead back on Lia Samuels’ 3-pointer with 3:24 left in the third. The teams went into the fourth quarter tied 42-42 and traded the lead back and forth until Mia Robbins’ layup with 3:42 left gave Widener the lead for good.
Gianna Samuels led Widener with a game-high 16 points and Robbins pitched in with 13.
Angela Czeremcha also scored 16 for Springfield. Amanda Leary and Claire Finney also finished in double figures, with 14 and 10 points, respectively.
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